Trolley-operating valve.



No. 868,889. PATENTED OCT. 22, 1907. R. H. ROGERS.

TROLLEY OPERATING VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.17. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

v PATENTED OCT. 22. 1907.

R. H. ROGERS.

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UNITED sTATEs lPATENT oEEroE.

ROBERT H. ROGERS, OF SOHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRICA COMPANY, A CORPORATION O F NEW YORK.

TROLLEY-OPERATING VALVE. l

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907.

l Application led November 17,1905. Serial No; 287,813.

To all lwhom it may concern. 4 Be it known that I, ROBERT H. ROGERS, a citizen of the United `States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Operating Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric railways and especially to the apparatus mounted on an electric railway vehicle for collecting current from an overhead conductor or a third rail.

It is sometimes found to be advisable or necessary to operate one portion of a railway by means of current supplied by a trolley wire or overhead conductor, and another portion by current taken from a third rail arranged near the roadloed. The moving vehicle must therefore be equipped with two or more current collecting devices to cooperate with these two supply con ductors; Means must be provided, also, for retracting the collecting devices, so that the idle one may rest. out ofthe way and be prevented from striking any structures erected adjacent 'to the track. The broad features of such a scheme have been disclosed by other 'I inventors. v

My invention relates mainly to an' engineers or motormans valve which can be operated both automatically and manually to retract and advance a current collecting device. For the sakel of convenience, I have illustrated its application to an overhead trolley: but it is equally applicable tothe'shoe of a third rail system.A

'In the accompanying drawing, Figure 'l is a diagram of piping and valves for pneumatically controlling two trolleys; Fig. 2 shows a portion of an overhead con-v ductor, and a trolley; Fig. 3` is a longitudinal section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 4 of my .improved` engineers valve, on a large scale; and Fig. 4 is a cross section of the same on the line l#-4 of Fig. 3.

I have chosen to show two trolleysand two valves, I

though it is evident that but one may be' used, if desired. As they are both alike, a description of one will suffice.

The trolley is properly of the lazy-tongs variety, 'The shoe l slides in Contact with the overhead conu ductor 2, which is provided with a depressed portion 3 at the point in the line where it is desired to retract the trolley. The shoe is pivoted to the upper members 4 of Vtwo toggles, whose lower members 5 are pivoted on a pedestal `6` mounted on the electric vehicle. The adjacent ends of the lower members 5 are provided with sector gears which intermesh so that the members move in unison. "The lower ends of the upper members entend beyond their pivots, and strong springs 7 are attached thereto and to the lower 4members 6 at or near their pivots. Thesesprings urge the Vshoe upwardly against the conductor: the shoe being connected with the pedestal by flexible leads 8.

The pedestal is hollow and contains a cylinder- 9 in which fits a piston l10 connected by a piston-rod 11 with la yoke l2 which stands above the lugs 13 on the lower members of the toggles. 'A strong helical spring 14 is compressed between the top of the pedestal and the piston and urges the latter downward with a force amounting to several hundred pounds: sufficient to overcome the upward thrust'of the springs 7, and pulls the shoe away from the conductor when `the yoke presses down on the lugs 13.

The lower end of the pedestal is closed, as by a screwplug 15, so thata chamber is formed under the piston to which compressed air or other Huid can be admitted through a pipe l16. The area of the piston is sufficient to enable the air to lift it against the tension of the spring, and hold the yoke out of engagement with the lugs 13. l l Y The' air is stored in a reservoir and the pressure is maintained by any suitable .air compressor (not shown).4

trolled by a valve or valves 17 locatedl at somepoint or points on the vehiclezconvenierit 'fon the engineer. lnasmuch as electric vehicles are usually arranged to run either end foremost, there is a valve at each end of` the vehicle, and' each yalve controls both current-L collecting devices, if more'than one is used. v The con-K'.`

struction of this enginee1"s'valve forms the main fea-V i ture of novelty in the present application. It comprises a casing 18, preferablyv providedrwith a bushing 19 and closed at each end by a flanged screw-plug 20 y having a stuffing-box 21- providedwith a gland 22 secured by a nut 23. A piston-rod 24 is arranged lengthwise of the casing and preferably passes throughv lone end and a'collar 28 on the piston-rod at the other end, so that it moves with the rod but is not attached .the casing and the stufiing-boxes, and carries a piston thereto. It has wings l29 which extend up past the rod and are connected by a transverse pin 30 whichsupports a spring 31 having arms which press against the top of the bushing and keep the valve on its seat. The piston-rod has a handle' at one end, preferably a lever 32 fulcrumed on a bracket 33 secured to the screw-plug at that end of the casing, and pivotally connected with said rod.

The air reservoir is connected with the valve `chamber by means of a pipe 34 running to the supply port 35. An exhaust port 36 is in constant connection with the cavity of the slide-valve.v The cylinder 10 in ,the trolley pedestal is connected by pipes 16 and' 37 with the delivery port 38 shown in Fig. 3 as leading to the valve chamber, but'adapted to be connected Withethe' exhaust by moving the valve to the right. Thismovement can be performed manually by inea-ns of the lever handle. But it is preferred to provide also for effecting it automatically by a downward movement oi the trolley occasioned by the depressed portion 3 of the overhead conductor. 'lhis operation is effected as follows. By reason of the leakage port 26 in thepiston 25, the piston chamber is normally filled withair at the reservoir pressure, so that its fluid pressures on the piston are balanced and it has no tendency to move. But if the piston chamber is suddenly freed of its air pressure the leakage port cannot admit air fast enough to maintain the balance, and the piston and valve will be forced to thev right (in Fig. 3), causing the air to exhaust from the cylinder 10, and permitting the spring 14 to pull down the yoke and retract the trolley. To this end, an operating or control port 39, communicating with the piston chamber, is connected by a pipe 40 with a puppet valve 4l Which is normally held' closed by the air pressure, but can be opened by a lever 42 pivoted on the valve casing 43 and having an arm bearing against the projecting stern 44 of the puppet valve. The other arm of said-lever is arranged to be struck by the lower member 5 of Vone of the toggles when the trolley shoe is pushed down by the depressed track-portion 3. The instant this occurs the puppet valve is opened, the piston chamber is bled, the slide valve 27 is shifted, the cylinder l0 is exhausted, and the spring 14 pulls the trolley down to its retracted position.

In order to operate both trolleys simultaneously, the pipes 40 are connected, so that the operation o'fci'ther of the engineers valves by hand or by the opening of either puppet valve will bleed both piston chambers, shift both slide valves, and exhaust both cylinders.

In order to raise the trolley, one` of the engineers valves must be restored to the position shown in the drawings. This is done by hand, by means of the handle 32. As soon as the slide valve opens Athe delivery port 38, the reservoir pressure passes from the valve chamber through the pipes lG and 37 to the trolley cylinders, and liits the pistons and yokes, thereby permitting the springs 7 to raise the trolley shoes. Inasmuch as the engineers valve at the other end of the vehicle still remains shifted, with the pipe 37 connected by the slide valve with the exhaust, it is necessary to provide some means for preventing the reservoir from exhausting through this open-line of communication. The means shown` consists of the double check valve 45 located at the point where the pipes 37 unite with pipes 16. When the reservoir pressure enters this check valve from either pipe, the valve is forced over and closes the other pipe, compelling the air to flow only through the common branch pipe 16 which communicates with both trolleys.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. In current collecting apparatus foinn electric railway vehicle, an engineers valve comprising a casing, a rod arranged lengthwise thereof and provided with hand operating means, a piston secured to said rod and having n leakv age port, and a slide valve engaged by said rod, said casing having supply and delivery ports and an exhaust port on one side of said piston, and an operating port on 'the other side thereof.

2.. In current collecting apparatus for :in electric railway vehicle, an eng-ineens valve comprising a casing, a bushing therefor, having a longitudinal groove, a rod running lengthwise of said lcasing and provided outside thereof with hand operating menus. a piston secured to said rod and having a leakage pori', and a slide valve engaged by said rod, said easing having an exhaust port and a delivery port controlled by said valve, a supply port opening v into the valve chamber, and an operating port opening into the piston chamber.

Il. In current collecting apparatus for an electric railway vehicle, an engineers valve comprising a casing, a piston therein dividing it into chambers and provided with hand operating means, a slide valve in one ofl said chambers, a source of tiuid pressure in constant communication with said chamber, a delivery port normally opening into said chamber, an exhaust port opening under the valve and adaptedv to be connected thereby with .the .delivery port. a leakage port in the piston for connecting the two chambers, and a control port opening out of the second chamber.

4. In current collecting apparatus for an electric` railway vehicle, an engincers valve comprising a casing, a slide valve therein having upwardly extending wings, a spring secured between said wings and bearing against the wall o1' tbe casing. a rod passing between said wings to the outside of said casing and provided with hand operating moans, a collar on said rod engaging one end of said valve, and a piston on said rod engaging the other end of said valve.

5. ln current collecting apparatus for an electric vehicle, the combination with an enginecrs valve comprising a slide valve provided with hand operating means, and n piston connected therewith and subjected to balanced fluid pressures, of means for unbalancing said pressures by an abnormal movement of the trolley.

6. In current collecting apparatus for :in electric vehcle, the combination with an cngineers valve comprising a slide valve and a piston connected therewith and sul jected to balanced fluid pressures, of hand operating means connected to said valve pneumatic means 'controlled by said slide valve for retracting the trolley, pneumatic means for unbalancing the pressures on said piston, and means for operating said nnbalancing means by an abnormal movement of the trolley.

7. In current collecting apparatus for an electric railway vehicle, the combination with two trolleys, of two engineer's valves, each comprising a piston subjected to balanced fluid pressures, and a slide valve connected with said piston, a double check vulve connected with both valve casings, pneumatic trolley-retracting mechanism connected with said check valve, and means operated by each trolley for bleeding the fluid-pressure from om` side of the pistons.

S. In current collecting apparatus for an electric rallway, u'n engineers valve comprising a casing having.r a stuflng-box at each end, a rod sliding through said ,stuilingboxes; a piston on said rod inside the casing and having a leakage port, a slide valve in the casing engaged by said rod, a handle attached to one end of said rod, supplyfdelivery and exhaust ports on one side ori said piston, and

an operating port Aon the other side thereoi 9. In current collecting apparatus for an electric vehicle, the combination with pneumatically actuated means for retractng the collector, of a valve mechanism therefor comprising a slide valve, means for actuating said valve manually, meansfor actuating it pneumatically, and de- 10 vices controlled by the movement of the collector'for operating said pneumatic valve actuating means.v

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of November, 1905.

ROBERT H. ROGERS. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, liAnGAlmT E. WooLLEY. 

